It is Saturday morning again. I woke up starving. Then I realized I never really ate a meal after the oatmeal yesterday morning. So I jumped on up out of bed, threw on some clothes and headed down to Charlie B's for a custom omelet and several sides . . . and conversation over coffee.
An old friend came in about the same time as I, so we sat and talked as he waited on his group to come. We talked of many things, as Saturday morning breakfasts allow, but one topic stuck in my mind.
We are trapped. Trapped by an economic system that owns us. At some point we made a choice, or more likely years of small insidious choices, that have led us to this place. I am not talking about regulations or de-regulation that should have been or not by elected officials that should have been or not. I am talking about the giving over of our lives to the idea that the goodness of life depends on things, on stuff.
My friend put it very simply. He told me that he has too many clothes. It does nothing for him but make life harder. How many pairs of pants does one person need? He complained of how much time he wasted this morning deciding which of his many pairs of pants to wear today. He complained of the space it took in his closets and house to have so much stuff. He was smiling as he talked, but he was serious. His talk wasn't about pants. He said he wished Christmas was more about mornings like this one at Charlie B's, just taking time to sit and talk and enjoy friendship. He wished for less time stressing over shopping for more things.
Wendell Berry wrote, "Don't own so much clutter that you would be relieved to see your house catch fire." That's a thought you would probably deny, unless you've had to pack up for a move lately.
It is a spiritual problem. Jesus addressed it directly more than once, speaking of earthly treasures that rust destroys and moths consume, which pretty much describes a lot of the stuff in my closets, carport, storage room and rented storage unit.
I received an invitation from Alex Beaube to become a member of Advent Conspiracy. AC is an internet driven movement to replace the crush of consumerism with the compassion of Christ during the Advent season, and hopefully throughout the year. I have yet to accept. I started looking at the stories and the passion of the organizers, and I'm not sure I can do it. I want to, Lord, I want to. But in that plan , in a relationship all I have to give is myself. And that hasn't always been enough. Can't sweeten the pot with an ipod accessory, a cool book or a sweater. Kinda like that guy in the last verse of "In the Bleak MidWinter":
"What can I give Him, poor as I am, If I were a shepherd, I would give a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. But what I can, I give Him, give, give, my heart."
The problem is that when we approach relationship with heart in hand, as opposed to a well wrapped package, we are taking a huge risk. Will I still be loved when all else is stripped away?
I have never believed I am enough. I don't think I'm alone in this (not in the belief that I am not enough, but whether any of us believe we are enough). So I much prefer to hide my heart behind something more special, wrapped in the packaging of a store that says I care enough to spend a lot. Like the folks in Cincinnatti advised me a few weeks ago, it's hard not to like somebody with a box of fresh doughnuts in their hands.
I am not opposed to gift giving. I found a book last week that when I saw it I thought of a friend. So that book became a birthday gift. The story of the wise men gives approval to the bringing of gifts to Jesus. I believe that when Jesus would go to people's homes he would bring a gift, maybe wine, or fresh bread.
But it's not about the gift. It's about the relationship. The one who gives and the one who receives. Sometimes that may be in the form of a special physcial object, but always it must take the form of love.
Love between the giver and the receiver, the receiver and the giver. It can't be stored up. It only exists in the giving and receiving. Heart to heart. Unwrapped.
The teaching is right there in the scriptures. Sell all that you have and give it to the poor. We Americans all fit the description of that rich man, but who among us has the courage or the faith to abandon these things? Consider the lilies of the field. They toil not; neither do they spin. Yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as the least of these. And why should this teaching be so difficult? Anyone who has ever really forgiven someone understands that the admonition to forgive one's enemies is a directive for a wholesome life. Perhaps the result of forgiveness has an effect on the forgiven; perhaps not. But the effect upon the forgiving is immediate.
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